Harry Potter and the New Beginning
by Aamara
Summary: Voldemort is back.
1. The First Beginning

Harry Potter and the New Beginning  
  
Chapter 1  
The First Beginning  
  
Harry looked out of his bedroom window and stared at the night sky. He just couldn't sleep. Bad dreams had become part of his nightly ritual since his return to Number 4 Privet Drive. He sat down on a chair by the window. He crossed his arms on the window ledge, and rested his head on his arms. He sighed heavily. He looked at the clock, 5:00am. Where was Hedwig? He had sent her out with a letter to Sirius, but that had been more than a week ago. He knew that Sirius was at Hogwarts and it shouldn't take that long for her to return.  
Harry looked at the clock again, 5:04am. If only he could get word from someone. Anyone. He hadn't even received any letters from Ron or Hermione all summer. His calendar showed that he still had 5 more weeks until he would go to Kings Cross and take the train back to Hogwarts. There had been absolutely no contact from anyone he knew in the wizarding world. He felt so cut off and alone.  
As Harry stared out over the trees he began to think about being back at school. How were things going over there? Would school still continue now that Voldemort had returned? Were his friends and loved ones still alright? These questions and 1000 more had been on his mind all summer. He slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep at the window.  
Once again he relived the night in the graveyard. Cedric on the ground dead, Wormtail, Voldemort, and the Death-Eaters. Again his arm being pierced by the dagger caused him to flinch in his sleep. Then came the blinding pain of the Crucatius Curse. Harry woke with a start. The sun was up. He turned to look at the clock again 7:12am. Well, he had gotten a couple of hours of sleep. It was better than nothing, he told himself.  
Harry got up and stretched trying to remove a small cramp that had developed in his back from sitting on the chair. He had just finished getting dressed when Hedwig flew in through the open window. She landed on Harry's bed and hooted softly at Harry. He sat down next to her stroking her head. "Where have you been? I've been so worried." Harry said as he removed a small note from her leg.  
Hedwig sat there looking up at Harry as he opened the note and began to read. " Harry, we're coming to get you today at 12:00 noon. Be in your bedroom and don't tell your Aunt or Uncle about this. Just make sure that you are ready at 12:00 noon exactly." There was no signature. It looked as though it has been written quickly so he couldn't tell whose writing it was.  
"Great," Harry thought. "Now what?" As the letter told him not to mention this to his relatives, he started to plan how to get all of his things ready without them noticing. Harry listened carefully at his door. There wasn't a sound. He quickly emptied his dresser and pulled his school supplies out from the loose floor board.  
The lock clicked as he opened his trunk. Harry stopped and listened again for any sound from downstairs. Quietly he placed all of his things in his trunk and closed the lid. Just as the lock snapped in place, he heard those thunderous footsteps climbing the stairs. He sat down at the window and was talking to Hedwig when the door flew open.  
Uncle Vernon glared at him. He didn't look as though he had slept very well. He had dark circles under his eyes and seemed grumpier than usual. Harry got up and walked out of the bedroom and went down the stairs to the kitchen.  
Aunt Petunia and Dudley were sitting at the table. Dudley stared as he always did but didn't say anything. Aunt Petunia glanced at him over her cup of coffee and nodded her head toward the stove. Harry saw the empty frying pan and went over to start making breakfast.  
The silence had been constant since his return. No one had said one word to him. They would simply glare at him and point. It didn't take Harry long to understand that they weren't going to speak to him at all anymore. The only voices that Harry heard besides his own were the neighbors or the sound from the TV. Occasionally there was some mumbling coming from Uncle Vernon as he talked in whispers to Petunia and Dudley whenever Harry was around.  
Harry knew that they had been completely informed of the events that had taken place at the Triwizard Tournament. They knew that he had been kidnapped, that Voldemort had tried to kill him and that another boy had died in the incident. But there had been no words of comfort or accusation. He was used to them ignoring him, but at least they would speak to him. There had been nothing.  
Every morning Harry would find a list of carefully detailed chores for him to do. It was always sitting on the table where he would sit to eat. He glanced over at the table as he broke the eggs into the frying pan, the list was there. How he wished that he could go back to the Burrow.  
As Harry was buttering the toast, he was thinking of a way to be able to get back to his bedroom at noon without causing any suspicion. One big problem was that it was a Saturday and Uncle Vernon did not have to go to work today. That meant that he would be home and watching Harry like a hawk all day.  
Maybe he could say that he wasn't feeling good and would ask to lie down for a while instead of eating lunch. Yes, that would work. Harry slid the eggs onto plates and brought them over to the table. As he sat down and bit into his toast, he scanned his list of chores for the day.  
Morning dishes, mop & wax the kitchen floor, weed the flower beds, (he had just done that 2 days ago), scrape the garage door, paint the garage door, fix the torn screen in Dudley's bedroom (he tore it yesterday during a tantrum) and hose down the gutters. And this was just for the morning. The list for the afternoon was twice as long. Harry groaned as he looked over the list. Uncle Vernon looked up and glared at him. Harry stayed silent and kept on eating.  
The morning was going along without incident. Harry was busy in the garden pulling the few blades of grass that had just begun to poke up through the flowers. This was his last chore before lunch time and he was curious as to what time it was. He stepped into the flower bed to peek through the window to see the clock on the kitchen wall. It read 11:56. A rush of panic ran through Harry. What if the clock was off? What if he was late? He turned to the door, wiped his feet on the rug and entered the kitchen.  
He was about to ask his Aunt if he could go lay down when a commotion started upstairs. Hedwig was hooting, screeching and rattling her cage. The noise was so loud Harry thought that she was in the next room. Uncle Vernon came bounding into the kitchen with his face as purple as a plum. He didn't say a word, but Harry knew better than to stick around. He ran up the stairs and into his room, slamming the door behind him.  
"What's wrong?" Harry asked. Upon seeing Harry, she calmed instantly and hooted gently to him. Harry heard a definite loud 'POP' behind him. He turned and saw Professors McGonagall and Snape standing there. Professor McGonagall twirled her wand at Harry's trunk, shrinking it to the size of a deck of cards. "Is that everything?" she asked. Harry nodded.  
Professor Snape picked up the small trunk and placed it in his robe pocket. "Come over here Potter," he said to Harry as he extended his hand to him. Harry picked up Hedwig's cage and walked over to them. They both placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and instantly Harry felt his feet leave the ground. He saw nothing for a few seconds and then he felt his feet touch the ground again. He was in the main entrance at Hogwarts.  
"That's one smart owl you've got there, Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "She knew exactly how to get you where you needed to be." Harry set Hedwig's cage on the floor. Sirius came rushing up to them and pulled Harry into a bear hug that he gladly returned. "How have you been?" asked Sirius. Harry pulled away and looked at him. "I've been pretty lousy. I was so worried about all of you. I haven't heard from anyone since I left." Harry was looking distraught. "What's been going on? And just how were we able to apparate directly into Hogwarts? That's supposed to be impossible," he said as he looked around.  
Sirius placed his hand on Harry's back and led him towards the closed doors of the Great Hall. "There have been a lot of changes going on here Harry," Sirius said as he pushed open the double doors. It was totally black inside. Not one candle was lit. Harry took two steps inside and looked around. The enchanted ceiling didn't reflect the outside sky either. He turned around to look at his Godfather just in time to see the doors close. Harry was left in total darkness without his wand. 


	2. Joining

Chapter 2  
  
Joining  
  
Harry put out his hands to catch the door. It shut tight with a loud thud. He felt around in the darkness trying to locate the handle. He took two steps forward. The door was gone. He felt only empty space where the door should have been. He took two more steps, nothing. Panic filled him. His heart began to race. He turned to the right, to the left. His arms reached out into the blackness only to meet emptiness. His breathing quickened. His muscles tensed. He stepped forward. Where had he been? Where had he started? He had lost his sense of direction. There was no way to tell which direction the door should have been. He stopped. "If you panic, you can't think," he told himself. "What do I do now?" He stood there in total emptiness and his heart sank. There wasn't anything to do. There wasn't anywhere to go. There was nothing here. Something quickly brushed by his leg. He jumped away straining against the dark to see what had touched him. There was a brush on his shoulder, his head, his back. Then both upper arms were pulled sharply behind him and held there. He was thrown to the ground and.  
Ron rolled over and fell out of bed, hitting his head on the floor in the process. That was one of the scariest dreams he ever had. He got up and sat on the edge of his bed rubbing the small lump that was developing above his left ear. "That was bloody weird." he said out loud to no one. "I've never dreamed that I was someone else. I've got to talk to Harry."  
He pulled on his jeans and a sweat shirt, and tucked his wand in his robe pocket as he pulled it on. Silently he crept out of his room and down the hall. Luckily the ghost in the attic had been rowdy for a couple of days and everyone was ignoring and sounds. He grabbed his broom from the cabinet under the stairs and went outside into the garden. "I won't be gone long Mum," he whispered into the air, "but I've just got to go check on Harry." Ron mounted his broom and rose into the air. He sped off towards Surrey, hoping to get there before sunrise. It was quite a long journey to go on broomstick, but there was no other choice. Muggle mail was too slow, and Errol was in no condition to fly anywhere. With the car being gone into the forest, Ron's broom was the only way to go. He flew low and stayed away from populated areas so he wouldn't be seen. He was sure that when he got back home, he wouldn't be able to use his broom for the rest of the summer, so he had better make good use of it today. The sun hadn't yet peeked over the horizon when Ron reached Harry's bedroom window. He tapped on it gently. "Hey, Harry, get up," Ron whispered. Harry opened one eye and looked out the window. Ron was outside his bedroom window gently bobbing up and down. "Come on, open up before someone sees me", Ron said. Harry jumped out of bed and opened the window. Ron scooted off the broom and sat on the window ledge. He handed his broom to Harry and then swung his legs around inside the room. Harry put on his glasses and looked at Ron in disbelief. "What are you doing here," Harry whispered. "We've got to talk. It's very important," Ron said. "My Aunt and Uncle will be up any minute. You had better take my Invisibility Cloak and hide under it." Harry opened his trunk, pulled out his cloak and handed it to Ron. Ron covered himself with the cloak. "Let me get dressed and we'll go outside," said Harry. As he picked up his too big jeans that he was forced to wear while living with the Dursleys, Ron reached into Harry's trunk, pulled out his wand and stuffed it into his robes. "Are you still here?" whispered Harry. Ron dropped the cloak around his shoulders, and his head appeared in midair. Harry smiled and shook his head as he pulled on his t-shirt and slipped his feet into shoes. "What's this all about?" he asked as he stood up. Ron shook his head. Harry opened his door and they went silently down the stairs. Harry opened the back door and went outside followed by an invisible Ron. The sun was just visible enough to make sure all the birds were awake and singing in the trees. The sky was still dark with orange and pink streaks rushing across it. They went into the yard and stepped behind the three small trees that were there. Ron let the cloak fall as he sat down on a small garden rock. Harry sat down looking very concerned. "Is everyone alright? Has someone been hurt? What is going on?" Harry asked. "You've had bad dreams before, right? Ron asked. "Yeah, who hasn't?" Harry replied. "Well," Ron continued, "Have you ever dreamed that you were someone else in your dreams?" "No," Harry said, "Why? Will you please tell me why you dragged me out of my bed at the crack of dawn?" "Harry, something is going on. I don't know exactly what, but it has to do with you. I've been dreaming that I was you and that I'm, that you're in trouble." Ron stopped talking abruptly as they heard a loud clink coming from the house. Ron grabbed the cloak and covered himself. Harry stood up and peeked around the tree. There was a cloaked figure standing in the yard looking up at Harry's bedroom window. Harry started to move towards it, but Ron held his arm. "No Harry, don't," Ron hissed. Harry stepped back and naturally snapped a twig. The cloaked figure turned around. A broomstick was just barely visible in the increasing light. The figure reached up and pulled off the hood. "Hermione, what are you doing here?" said Harry. Ron pulled the cloak down to his shoulders as she came running toward them. She was out of breath as if she had been running for quite a while. "Had to come," she breathed. "Trouble,.dreams,.I was so worried." She stopped talking to catch her breath. "Have you been having bad dreams too?" Ron asked. "Yes," Hermione said as she sat down on Ron's rock. "I've been dreaming for the past few days of terrible things. Tonight I dreamed that I was you, Harry, and you were in a lot of trouble. It frightened me so much that I fell out of bed and hit my head. I suspect that it has something to do with Voldemort." 


End file.
